Episode 458: Listener Emails Don’t Need Explainin’
Date May 28, 2014 Summary Ben and Sam answer listener emails about the Scouting Bureau and scouting departments, stats and the mainstream media, genetic testing, and more. Topics * MLB Scouting Bureau * Competitive advantage from scouting * Media responsibility for explaining statistics * Missing the cycle * Players worse in team wins * If coaches took roster spots * Genetic testing of players Intro Of Montreal, "Don't Ask Me to Explain" Banter * Ben Revere hit his first career home run after 1,466 at-bats. * There have not been any announced pitcher elbow injuries recently. * Episode 457 follow-up: Ben enjoyed a Smash Mouth/Shawshank Redemption video posted in the Facebook group. Email Questions * Mike: "I just finished Dollar Sign on the Muscle and was intrigued to learn about the MLB Scouting Bureau and its original intent to more economically provide scouting info to whichever teams bought in. I've gathered via Google that it still exists and that they run the scout school Ben attended but I'm wondering if you guys have a sense for how it works nowadays. Do teams still have to buy in for access to its scouting reports? If so, are there still teams that opt out and if so which ones? And, are there teams that still rely only on the bureau for scouting info and have no internal scouting departments of their own?" * Vinit (Milwaukee, WI): Russell Carleton wrote today about the amateur draft and how MLB teams are pretty bad at picking winners. This is nothing new, but it's always fun when Russell uses math to prove things. How much money would MLB teams save by firing most of their area/amateur scouts and buying a subscription to Baseball Prospectus and going off Jason Parks' prospect list?" * Matthew: response to a recent Bob Ryan article "Do you think the mainstream media has responsibility to use and explain advanced statistics to more accurately explain what happened to the average fan?" * Dan: "Last week you answered an email about what would happen if the manager took a roster spot but could otherwise be replaced by a regular player. What if every in uniform personnel took a roster spot and could be replaced with a player? So first base coach, third base coach, bench coach, pitching coach, manager, bullpen coach, etc. Does any of these guys remain? Would we see manager/third base coach/super coach guys and regular players in every other spot? Would the Astros just field a team of 24 coaches and 1 guy? What would happen?" * Dan: "Suppose doctors discovered a gene that predicts a weakened UCL that will lead to a greatly increased chance of Tommy John surgery in pitchers. Say, 500% increased likelihood within the first 10 years of their career. It's detectable with a simple blood test and the results of the study are completely accurate. What does baseball do? How does the Player's Association react if this is suddenly discovered mid season? Do we end up with a weird Gattaca like baseball? Are players tested and then converted into position players? Do players test themselves and convert themselves to position payers? Do players just not want to know?" Play Index * Dave Hansen is the career leader for pinch hitting without getting a plate appearance, having that happen to him 63 times. * Lou Gehrig finished a triple shy of the cycle 42 times. This happened to Babe Ruth 41 times, and Alex Rodriguez 38 times. * Lou Gehrig finished a double shy of the 15 times, and a single shy of the cycle 3 times. * Paul Waner is the career leader for being a home run shy of the cycle, which he did 27 times. * Sam uses OPS+ splits to figure out players that have been worse in their team's wins than losses. * Of all active players with a minimum of 600 career plate appearances, Emmanuel Burriss and Donovan Solano are the two players that were worse in their team's wins. * Jeff Sullivan completed a similar Play Index search in Episode 1143, looking a players who performed better in team's losses. Notes * The MLB Scouting Bureau is now centralized within MLB and all teams receive information from it. * In Episode 100 Ben & Sam talked to Kevin Goldstein about the difference between public and team-specific information. * Babe Ruth never hit for the cycle. * Sam's least favorite fun fact is what a team's record when is when a certain event (player home run, stolen base, etc.) happens. Links * Effectively Wild Episode 458: Listener Emails Don’t Need Explainin’ * The Shawshank Redemption Ultramix Vol. 1 * The Annual Amateur Draft Guessing Game by Russell Carleton * Do baseball fans care about new breed of stats? by Bob Ryan Category:Email Episodes Category:Episodes